Comments by zorro

Calling this a "rehabilitation" and not a "demolition" is misleading and a semantic manipulation of the facts to misrepresent what is really happening here. The plan is to demolish an important historic Landmark, then rebuild it as a completely new replica incorporating some blocks from the original building to justify calling it "historic". The new structure will not be "historic" in any sense of the word. The original historic building will be gone forever and the replica that replaces it will no longer qualify as a Landmark. This sets a tragic precedent for historic preservation in the County of Santa Barbara. A developer may now demolish an official Landmark to increase his profits, with the County's blessing. In this case the developer intentionally allowed the building to deteriorate so they could claim it was beyong saving, falsely blaming the previous owner. The County Historic Landmarks Commission has failed miserably in its duty to protect and preserve what few historic landmarks survive.

The structural work was NOT done to save the cabana itself, only the deck which is part of an engineered walkway to the beach and completely legal under the Coastal Act. This is a key factual error by Ms. Zimmer and the commission staff. The cabana structure is, and always has been, structurally sound, stable and unthreatened by destruction from natural causes.

The cabana was unanimously designated a historic Landmark by the County's 11-member Landmarks Commission, and on a 4 to 1 vote of the Board of Supervisors. The County Planning Commission voted unanimously to preserve the Landmark. There was NO public opposition at any of the hearings. Only the county's staff and Supervisor Janet Wolf called for its demolition.

Ms. Zimmer never made any protest in writing or at any of the hearings but now after six years, she is abusing her position on the Coastal Commission by bringing this appeal to pursue her own personal agenda. Her high-handed assertion that protection of historic landmarks "shouldn't trump protection of coastal resources" is not supported by the law. She just made up that rule. Historic landmarks on the coast ARE "coastal resources" and should be given at least equal protection.

The statement, "She also designed El Paseo (off De la Guerra Plaza)" is incorrect. The original part of El Paseo "off De la Guerra Plaza" was designed in the early 1920s by husband-and-wife architects James Osborne Craig and Mary McLaughlin Craig, and was completed in 1924 at about the same time that the Lobero Theatre (designed by George Washington Smith and Lutah Maria Riggs) was being constructed. The Anacapa Street section of El Paseo was designed by Carlton Monroe Winslow and completed in 1928. The State Street entrance to El Paseo was reconstructed in 1965 and was designed by Lutah Maria Riggs.

Once again, this SB cop, Jaycee Hunter, is at the center of police misconduct charges. Hunter has a long history of misconduct allegations, including abuse of minors in the PD's Explorer program, lying under oath, assaulting bicyclists with a Taser for running a stop sign, manipulation of witnesses, exceeding authority, etc. He has serious anger and other emotional issues and is unfit to be a police officer. This recent court incident is just the latest episode.

This kind of thing is common and goes on routinely at both the City and County design review boards. The real underlying problem is the waste, inefficiency and unfairness of the overly complex and convulted procedures set up by staff to process an application to build or remodel anything in this town. Staff calls for every unnecessary study, report, plans, etc. they can simply to generate as many permit fees as possible to pay for their own salaries and benefits (including pensions). If anybody has a "conflict of interest" its the staff who process the applications. Why doen't the FPPC investigate that?

The real criminal in this case is Ofcr. Kasi Beutel -- lying, perjury, forgery, exceeding authority, etc. She is such a slimeball there's a good chance that Lance was never over the legal limit, but we will never know because she mishandled his case so badly. A rogue cop like Beutel who ignores all the rules is a far greater danger to society than a .09 DUI driver. She and a few other bad apples need to be thrown out of the SBPD.

Feminism, Inc. has been cut back on the federal gravy train, so all those extreme feminists are scrambling to keep their fat salaries running scam "rape crisis centers" that do little but claim they do a lot. Williams is just pandering to the lefty voters, as usual.

This is great news! Now the County can issue permits to the owners to restore and preserve these priceless historical treasures before they are lost forever. WELL DONE, Board of Supervisors, Historic Landmarks Commission, and the owners!!!

This landmarking by the City Council is truly historic. For the first time in the city's history (or the county's for that matter) a private home has been made a Historic Landmark WITHOUT THE OWNER's CONSENT AND OVER HIS OBJECTION. The fact that there is little if any historic importance attached to the house makes it an even more egregious violation of private property rights. True (not pretend) historic preservation in Santa Barbara has been seriously damaged by this radical government overreach. The Landmarks Commission is dominated by extremists who want to control every property they can, property owners' rights be damned.